NHL: Blackawks get back on winning track, beat Blue Jackets in overtime

Published: Friday, March 15, 2013 12:13 a.m. CST

Caption

(AP)

Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford tracks and stops a shootout attempt by Columbus' Derick Brassard through an ice bath Thursday in Columbus, Ohio. The Blackhawks won 2-1.

BY CHRIS KUC
Chicago Tribune

COLUMBUS, Ohio – End to end, they raced during the 5-minute overtime Thursday night.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped everything the Blackhawks could throw at him, and Corey Crawford denied the Blue Jackets’ every opportunity.

The combined 13 shots on the goaltenders in the extra period weren’t enough to decide things. So Patrick Kane slowed everything down and potted the game-winner in the shootout as the Hawks came away with a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

Kane’s shootout winner, during which he screeched to a near-halt and lifted a back-hander past Bobrovsky, helped the Hawks snap a two-game skid and improve to 22-2-3 on the season.

“It was pretty intense,” Kane said of the overtime when the Hawks had six shots but couldn’t solve Bobrovsky. “It was a pretty interesting overtime. The goalies made some great saves.”

Johnny Oduya scored in regulation, and Crawford made 29 saves in regulation and overtime and had two more in the shootout.

In regulation, the Hawks – and Oduya – finally broke through when the defenseman notched his first goal of the season. He took a nifty pass from Kane, advanced toward the net and rifled a shot over Bobrovsky’s left shoulder.

A Sheldon Brookbank holding penalty put the Hawks short-handed, and the Blue Jackets wasted little time in tying it.

After Brandon Dubinsky beat Toews on a faceoff in the Hawks’ zone, the puck slid to Johnson, who unloaded a slap shot that beat Crawford to the glove side.

After a 3-day break following a stretch of seven games in 11 nights, the Hawks appeared refreshed.

“Being away and not even thinking about hockey for a couple of days was healthy for us,” Quenneville said.